ES2762165T3 - System and method for simplified configuration of a universal remote control - Google Patents

Abstract

A method for providing interactive instructions to a user to install a control device (100) used to control various controllable appliances, the method comprising: providing a programming of a first controllable appliance (102) for presentation of instructions to the user in response to input by the user by means of the control device (100); providing user input to the first controllable household appliance (102) via the control device (100) indicating that the control device (100) is to be installed to control a second controllable household appliance (106); accessing the instruction data associated with the second controllable appliance (106) through programming provided on the first controllable appliance (102); characterized in that it further comprises, in response to user input by means of the control device, selecting a device type and a brand of the second controllable appliance (106), displaying the instruction data through the programming provided on the first controllable appliance ( 102) to be used by the user in the installation of the control device (100) to control the second controllable appliance (106), the instruction data comprising an installation code number for the user to enter into the control device (100 ) to install the control device (100).

Description

DESCRIPTION

System and method for simplified configuration of a universal remote control

Related request data

This application claims the benefit of United States Provisional Application Serial No. 60 / 715,229 filed on September 8, 2005.

Background of the Invention

This invention relates generally to remote control systems and, more particularly, to a system and method for installing and configuring a universal remote control to control the functions of one or more types of remotely controlled household appliances from one or more manufacturers. Example types of home appliances include but are not limited to televisions, VCRs, cable boxs, record players, digital video recorders (DVRs), thermostats, game consoles, etc.

Manufacturers typically provide a remote control with an appliance, and as such, different types of appliances from different manufacturers are often controlled with different remote controls. To minimize the amount of individual remote controls a user requires, universal remote controls have been developed. Consequently, universal remote controls to control various functions of various types of home appliances from various manufacturers have become quite widespread. By way of example, universal remote controls are described in commonly assigned United States Patents Nos. 4,959,810, 5,255,313, and 5,552,917.

In a common method of installing a universal remote control, codes for controlling the functions of an appliance are learned from a remote control supplied by the manufacturer with that appliance. The learned codes, which are stored inside the universal remote control, are available below for later transmission to the appliance. Alternatively, codes for the control functions of household appliances of various types and various manufacturers can be pre-programmed into the universal remote control. The user then interacts with the universal remote control to identify to the universal remote control which appliance (s) the user wants to control, i.e. the user manually enters an appliance or brand code, usually obtained from a tabulation in a user manual. Printed user or the like, on the universal remote control and the universal remote control uses the identity information provided by the user to access those pre-programmed codes that are appropriate to control the identified appliance (s). In this regard, examples of known methods for performing an initial configuration of a universal remote control can be found, for example, in the aforementioned US Patent No. 4,959,810, as well as in US Patent No. No. 5,614,906, entitled "Method for Selecting a Remote Control Command Set", or US Patent No. 4,703,359 titled "Universal Remote Control Unit with Model Identification Capability".

An additional system and method for installing a universal remote control is described in US Patent No. 6,650,248.

While the known configuration methods work for their intended purpose, it has been found that the process of installing and configuring a universal remote control can be demanding, time-consuming, and generally frustrating for many users. For example, user manuals or other documents containing setup codes and entry instructions may be lost or misplaced, or may be replaced as brand and / or model names evolve, etc. Accordingly, there is a need for a simplified and easier to use system and method for manually installing and configuring a universal remote control.

WO 01/47130 A1 describes how to allow a user to program a universal remote control transmitting device by presenting interactive screen menus or voice prompts within a first remotely controllable synchronized appliance.

WO 2005/036325 A2 describes the installation of a universal remote control using an RFID tag.

US 6,909,378 B1 describes the upgrade of a universal remote control.

Document US 6,008,735 A describes the programming of a remote control unit.

US 6,597,374 B1 describes an activity based remote control unit.

Summary of the Invention

In accordance with this need, a system and method of allowing a universal remote control to be easily installed and configured to control household appliances of various types and manufacturers is described below.

From the following detailed description and accompanying drawings which describe illustrative embodiments that are indicative of the various ways in which the principles of the system and method may be employed You will gain a better understanding of the system's objectives, benefits, features, properties, and relationships, and the method of installing and configuring a universal remote control. The invention is presented in the attached set of claims.

Brief description of the drawings

For use with a better understanding of the example systems and methods for configuring a universal remote control described below in the present specification, reference may be made to the preferred embodiments shown in the following drawings in which:

Figure 1 illustrates an example system in which the universal remote control can be used;

Figure 2 illustrates a top view of an example universal remote control for use in the system of Figure 1;

Figure 3 illustrates a block diagram view of various components of the example universal remote control of Figure 2;

Figures 4 to 6 illustrate the system of Figure 1 in various stages during initial installation of the example universal remote control;

Figure 7 illustrates, in flowchart form, the steps performed during initial installation of the example universal remote control;

Figure 8 illustrates the system of Figure 1 in various stages during an example key mapping installation of the example remote control;

Figure 9 illustrates, in flowchart form, the steps performed during installation of the example remote key assignment; and

Figure 10 illustrates an instruction sheet for an alternate example method for installing the remote control key mapping.

Description of the Invention

The following describes a system and methods for installing and configuring a universal remote control to control one or more functions of one or more types of home appliances from one or more manufacturers. By way of example, FIG. 1 illustrates an example system 110 where a universal remote control 100 supplied together with a cable box 102 can be used to control functions of various household appliances, illustrated as a television set 104 and a VCR 106 .

To be used to remotely control an appliance to perform a common and / or extended operating function (i.e., a function that may not be widely compatible with devices of a common device type), the universal remote control 100, whose example illustrated in Figure 2 includes a set of command keys within an array of keys that are assigned to operational functions. In this regard, common operational functions include functions that are generally broadly compatible with devices of a common device type (for example, ignition 202, digital tuning 204, volume control 208, channel 206 up / down control, transport of media 210, etc.). The universal remote control 100 also includes the device keys 212, for example "AUX", "CBL", "VCR" and "TV", the activation of which places the universal remote control 100 in a mode to transmit commands to a particular type device and an installation key 208. It will be appreciated that, although illustrated as physical keys, the keys of the universal remote control 100 can be implemented as programmable keys, for example, when displayed on an LCD touch screen or the like.

By way of further example, referring to Figure 3, the universal remote control 100 may include, as needed for a particular application, a processor 300 coupled to one or more memory devices (such as ROM memory 308, memory RAM 310, and / or a nonvolatile read / write memory 306), a key array 302 (eg, physical buttons, a touch screen, or a combination thereof), an internal clock, and a timer 301, circuit 304 transmission (s) (eg IR and / or RF), receiver circuit (s) and / or transceiver circuit (s) (eg IR and / or RF - not shown), a means 303 for providing visual feedback to the consumer (eg, LED, display, and / or the like), a means for providing audio feedback to the user (eg, a speaker, not illustrated), a power supply 307, and / or or a serial I / O port (for example, a connector or contacts, not illustrated). As will be understood by those skilled in the art, the memory device (s) include executable instructions that are intended to be executed by processor 300 to control the operation of universal remote control 100. In this way, processor 100 can be programmed to control the various electronic components within the universal remote control 100, for example, to monitor the power supply 307, to cause signal transmission, display icons and / or HTML pages, etc. A non-volatile read / write memory 306, for example, an EEPROM or the like, can be provided to store installation data and parameters as needed so that it is not necessary to reload the data after changing the battery. It should be understood that memory devices can take the form from any type of readable medium, such as, for example, a smart card, memory card, a chip, a hard disk, a magnetic disk and / or an optical disk. Still further, it will be appreciated that some or all of the illustrated memory devices can be physically incorporated within the same IC chip as processor 300 (a so-called "microcontroller") and, as such, in Figure 3 are shown separately only in for the sake of clarity.

In order to cause the universal remote control 100 to perform an action, the universal remote control 100 is adapted to respond to events, such as a detected consumer interaction with the key array 302, the reception of a transmission, etc. In response to an appropriate event, instructions and / or data are executed and / or accessed within memory devices. For example, when a command key is activated on the universal remote control 100, the universal remote control 100 can retrieve a code data value corresponding to the activated command key from a memory device and access instructions for transmitting the code data value retrieved to a device in a format recognizable by the device. It will be appreciated that the instructions within the memory devices can be used not only to cause the transmission of command codes and / or data to the devices, but also to perform local operations. Although not limiting, local operations that universal remote control 100 can perform include information / data display, favorite channel installation, macro button installation, relocation of command function keys, etc. Since examples of local operations can be found in US Patent Nos. 5,481,256, 5,959,751, and 6,014,092, they will not be discussed in further detail herein.

To initially program the universal remote control 100 to access the operating functions of a device, the consumer can use an improved system and method for obtaining, entering, and testing the device code information, an exemplary embodiment of which It is described below in the present specification.

Turning now to Figure 4, in an exemplary embodiment, a remote control 100 may be provided in conjunction with a cable or satellite ("STB") decoder 102. Remote control 100 may include a universal library of infrared codes for use in controlling other types of household appliances that are commonly used in conjunction with a decoder, such as for example a TV 104 and / or a VCR 106. To facilitate the installation of remote control 100 to control the operation of household appliances 104, 106, decoder 102 can be equipped with data 404 and application program 406, preferably stored locally within STB 102 in mass storage 402 or in a device otherwise accessible to STB 102. It will be appreciated that mass storage 402 can take the form of flash memory, ROM memory, RAM memory, memory card or card, hard disk drive, CD ROM, etc., or any combination of the above, depending on it corresponds. It will further be appreciated that data 404 and application 406 can be periodically updated over the cable network and / or in certain embodiments may even reside partially or entirely on the cable head end or other remote source accessible by the STB 102. 404 data and 406 application can also be updated using a device other than STB 102. For example, if 404 data and 406 application are kept in removable memory, removable memory can be updated through a computer personal or other device with an Internet connection and then replaced on STB 102. It should also be appreciated that while the example embodiment is presented below in terms of interactions between a remote control 100 and an application 406 resident in a STB, in alternative embodiments the 406 application can be hosted and interactions can occur with any appropriate appliance such such as a TV, DVR, AV receiver, etc., without limitation.

Application 406 responds to IR signals emitted by remote control 100 during the user installation process, as illustrated in the flowchart of Figure 7 and described below: User enters installation mode by pressing and holding the installation key 208 is pressed. The entry of the installation mode can be indicated to a user by the LED 303 flashing twice (for example, by pressing and holding the installation key for approximately 3 seconds). Upon entering installation mode, the remote control transmits a specific "installation" IR code to STB 102, which is interpreted as a command to start application 406 "Remote Installation / Help". Alternatively or as a backup, in certain embodiments, application 406 can also be invoked from the STB 102's built-in menu system, upon activation of a dedicated key on STB 102, etc.

Regarding entering the installation mode, the remote control 100 can configure its keyboard as follows:

• Navigation (Left, Right, Up, Down and Select / OK keys) 214, the Exit key 216 and the device keys 212 are adapted to cause the transmission of infrared command data in the format recognized by STB 102;

• The digit entry keys 204 do not transmit commands, but only serve to enter the appliance installation codes as described below in this specification; and

• Function keys, such as volume 208, channel up / down 206, transport keys 210, etc., are adapted to cause infrared command data transmission in the format of the appliance under test as described hereinafter.

In relation to the following paragraphs, the reader may want to refer to Figure 7, which presents, in flowchart form, a summary of the steps described below and illustrated in Figures 4 to 6. When started, the STB 406 application can display on TV 104 a user message such as: "What device do you want to install for the control?" along with a list of valid device types, for example. "TV", "VCR", "Receiver", etc. The 406 application may also ask the user to select an appropriate language for the prompts. The 406 application can also display messages for general user guidance, such as "Press Exit at any time to exit remote installation and watch TV again."

In the exemplary embodiment, the user can then select, using the navigation keys 214, a desired device type from the displayed list, for example "VCR". In an alternative embodiment, the user can directly select the type of device by actuating one of the device keys 212 of the remote control, which in that case can be adapted to transmit a signal to the STB indicative of the type of device selected. Application 406 may respond by displaying a confirmation of the selected device type along with scrolling list 410 of valid brand names for that device type, as illustrated in Figure 4. The brand names that make up this list are obtained by reference. to data file 404. In this way, it will be understood that certain keys or groups of keys on remote control 100 can be temporarily reconfigured (generally during the installation procedure) to transmit command data to the STB for the purpose of user interaction with application 406 during the setup process.

The user can then select (once again through the use of keys 214) the name of the desired brand, for example "Samsung". Application 406 may respond by displaying the remote control installation code number that is most likely to be selected from a set of infrared codes that will operate the appliances of the indicated type and manufacturer (again, obtained by reference to 404 data). In the presented example embodiment, this number may include a leading digit to indicate to the remote control programming what type of device is to be installed, for example "2" for "VCR". In alternative embodiments where the user may have already explicitly entered the type of device being installed using one of the 212 keys, this may not be necessary.

The user can then enter this number, for example "2" "0" "0" "6" "0" (502 in Figure 5), on the remote control 100 using the 204 digit entry keys. the last digit in the sequence, remote control 100:

• It configures itself to transmit commands in the infrared command format indicated in response to activation of the function keys 206, 208, 210, etc., and

• Transmits an infrared command in STB format to notify the STB 406 application that the device code entry has ended.

Upon receiving the completion signal from the remote control 100, the STB 406 application may display a list of the suggested function (s) 602 to test the operation of the target appliance using the code just entered, along with a User message to, for example, press "configure" if the suggested code works, or press "select" to try a different code, all as illustrated in Figure 6.

If the user activates the "configuration" key, indicating that the current code being tested has been found adequate to control the operation of the appliance, the remote control 100 again transmits an end signal in infrared STB format, which is interpreted by application 406 on STB 102 as a successful completion of the configuration process and causes application 406 to end execution, returning STB 100 to normal operation. Similarly, remote control 100 also returns to normal operation, now configured to issue commands in the chosen format that select the type of device (VCR in the example presented) by activating one of the 212 keys.

If, on the other hand, the user activates the "select" key, indicating that the current code being tested cannot control the operation of the appliance, the remote control 100 transmits the "select" command signal in infrared STB format, causing the 406 application to retrieve and display the next most likely configuration code number contained in the 404 data, so that the user can repeat the testing steps using this new code. This installation process can continue until the user finally exits by activating the "install" or "exit" key, or alternatively, the 404 data may include an indicator that there are no more possibilities, after which eventual recovery the 406 application may have instructions displayed. the user to abort the installation process by pressing the "exit" key and, for example, call a customer service number. In an alternative embodiment, application 406 can be configured to monitor command data transmitted from remote control 100 during the installation process for use in automatic progress through the various installation instructions and prompts associated with the installation application. By way of example only, application 406 can be configured to monitor command data transmitted from remote control 100 to echo key presses on the television screen as a means of visual verification to the user that a code Configuration was entered correctly or to present messages such as "Did your DVD player respond to the power command? Press" 1 "for yes, or press" 0 "for no, thus receiving the command data from the key "1" or "0" will cause application 406 to automatically continue with another instruction or request in the setup procedure.

In certain embodiments, after the appropriate command code sets have been selected for the devices to be controlled as described above, it may be desirable to further configure certain operating characteristics of the remote control 100. In particular, as described, by For example, in US Patents 6,947,101 or 7,013,434, it may be advantageous to assign certain subsets of the keys on the remote control 100 to always transmit corresponding command codes to a specific device. As appropriate for a particular embodiment, this can take the form of a fixed assignment of certain keys to always send the same code regardless of the device currently selected by means of device keys 212 (as described in the United States document). States 6,947,101 mentioned above) or this may take the form of a different page or special device mode (for example, "home theater mode") consisting of a set of key function groups of other device modes ( as described in US document 7,013,434 mentioned above), or some combination thereof. For example, users whose equipment is configured to route all audio signals through their audio and video receiver may wish to have the volume keys 208 on the example remote control 100 to always transmit the commands intended to control operations. corresponding to the receiver (i.e. the device code installation on the AUX 220 mode key). Cable or satellite subscribers may wish that the channel tuner keys 206 and the numeric keypad 204 always transmit commands intended to control the corresponding STB operations (it will be appreciated that the remote controls supplied with an STB may already be preconfigured This way, however, remotes offered as aftermarket accessories and / or supplied with other devices may not be).

To this end, once device installation is complete, application 406 may interactively request the user to enter information about device usage and system configuration, information that can then be used to configure key assignments, program Automatically macro scripts such as "all on", "all off", "watch a movie", etc., or for any other appropriate remote control configuration purpose. An example method of performing key mapping is illustrated in Figure 8 and summarized in flowchart form in Figure 9. By means of this example, after the initiation of this particular installation operation, you can Starting in a manner similar to that described above, application 406 may display on TV 104 an 802 message requesting that the user indicate to the remote control which device is normally used to control system volume. In the example presented, options 803 are Tv, audio receiver, or VCR. Without limitation, this list can include all types of devices that support the operation for which the installation is desired, it can be limited to those types of devices that the system has learned, through the initial configuration process, that have to be controlled by remote control etc. The user can then indicate to the remote control which of the listed devices should be used for this operation by activating an appropriate device key 212 ("TV", "Aux" or "VCR" in this case) . Activation of a device key can then cause remote control 100 to set its internal key assignment for volume control (i.e., the command codes to be transmitted by the volume and mute keys 208 during normal operation) to match the indicated device. Remote control 100 can also transmit a specific command code to STB 102 indicating that a volume selection has been made. The reception of this command by the STB can cause application 406 to display the following user message 804 on TV 104, requesting that the user select the device that he generally uses for movie playback. Similarly, a selection of the playback device can be made by the user. Referring to the flowchart of Figure 9 (902, 904), in systems where remote control 100 was supplied along with STB 102 and application 406 resides in STB, the step of selecting a channel tuning device it can be omitted since in this case it is the default STB. In other situations, user 806 may be asked to specify a device to be used for channel tuning, once again in a manner similar to that described above. After this stage of the installation process is complete, in certain embodiments, the remote control 100 can also adjust 906 macro scripts (such as "all on" or "all off", or activity initiation macros such as "view a movie ") as needed using the newly entered device preferences.

Turning now to Figure 10, in certain embodiments where application 406 is not available or not compatible with the STB and / or a display device such as TV 104 is not readily available (for example, in cases where the configuration of the remote control is performed before connecting the equipment, where a previous generation of STB that does not support additional applications, etc. is still being used) an alternative method of assignments can be offered for assigning the configuration keys instead of or together with the methods presented above. This may take the form of a configuration table 1002 made available to the user of the remote control 100, for example by publication in the user manual, publication on a website, etc. Table 1002 can comprise an array listing key groups 1004 along with possible permutations 1006 and an identifier 1008 for each (eg, a number). In this example, users of remote control 100 may be instructed to invoke a special installation mode (for example, by activating a specific key sequence on remote control 100) and then enter the data IDs indicated for the configuration of your system. For example, in the embodiment illustrated in Figure 10, a user who changes channels through a wired STB, routes their audio signals through an AV receiver, and uses a DVD player to watch movies, can enter the code "0", "3", corresponding to the configuration represented by row 1010 of the illustrated table.

It will be appreciated that all or part of the 404 data and / or the 406 application can be downloaded to the STB 102 (or other application host device, as appropriate) from a cable or satellite headend terminal, the internet, the telephone network switched, etc., as is well known in the art, either as a periodic update or on-demand when the remote control configuration function is invoked. In this way, the data used to guide the user through the installation process can be updated every time new or revised brand names or cross-references are produced, to allow for language expansion, etc. Also, in situations where multiple remote control models or revisions have been offered by an STB provider or other host device, alternative data sets 404 can be downloaded, for example, based on the user's response to a initial screen showing images of the various remote control versions,

Although specific embodiments of the present invention have been described in detail, those skilled in the art will appreciate that various modifications and alternatives to those details could be developed in light of the general explanations of the disclosure. For example, it should be appreciated that any of the methods described above can be used alone or in combination to configure remote control 100. Additionally, as noted, the functionality of universal remote control 100 can be included in other control devices, such as such as PDAs, personal computers, home devices, or the like. Furthermore, although the above example embodiment is presented in terms of interactions between a decoder and a universal remote control, it will be appreciated that many other types of household appliances, eg televisions, PVRs, DVDs, PCs, etc., can be substitute for the STB without altering the spirit of the invention. Accordingly, it will be understood that the described arrangements and procedures are intended to be illustrative only and not limiting as to the scope of the invention, to which the full scope of the appended claims should be given.

Claims (12)

1. A method of providing interactive instructions to a user to install a control device (100) used to control various controllable appliances, the method comprising: providing programming of a first controllable appliance (102) for presenting instructions to the user in response to input by the user via the control device (100); providing user input to the first controllable appliance (102) via the control device (100) indicating that the control device (100) must be installed to control a second controllable appliance (106); accessing the instruction data associated with the second controllable appliance (106) by programming provided in the first controllable appliance (102); characterized in that it further comprises, in response to user input by means of the control device, selecting a type of device and a brand of the second controllable appliance (106), displaying the instruction data through the programming provided in the first controllable appliance ( 102) to be used by the user in the installation of the control device (100) to control the second controllable household appliance (106), the instruction data comprising an installation code number for the user to enter into the control device (100). ) to install the control device (100) The method as listed in claim 1, wherein at least a portion of the instruction data is accessed by programming provided in the first controllable appliance (102) from a remote source (402). 3. The method as listed in claim 1, wherein the instruction data is automatically provided to the first controllable device (102) by a remote source (402). The method as listed in claim 1, wherein at least a portion of the programming provided in the first controllable appliance (102) is provided from a remote source (402). The method as listed in claim 1, wherein programming is automatically provided to the first controllable household appliance (102) by a remote source (402). The method as listed in claim 1, wherein the instructions include a series of navigable menus from which the user can select the type of appliance and the brand of the second controllable appliance (106). 7. A method of configuring a control device (100) having multiple function keys, the method comprising: receiving input into the control device (100) that functions to place the control device (100) in a first installation mode where the activation of one or more function keys from a first group (212, 214) of the various Function keys will cause command transmissions to a first controllable appliance (102) for the purpose of invoking and navigating displayable instructions to configure the control device (100) to control the operations of a second controllable appliance (106) by selecting a type of device and a brand of the second controllable household appliance (106) and wherein the activation of one or more function keys of a second group (204) of the various function keys to enter an installation code number indicated by the displayable instructions is used to select a command set from a library of command sets stored within the control device (100) for s er used in command communication to the second controllable appliance (106), whereby activation of one or more function keys from a third group of function keys (202, 206, 208, 210) will cause command transmissions from the selected command set to the second controllable appliance (106) thereby allowing the selected command set to be tested as appropriate for the second controllable appliance (106); characterized in that the first controllable household appliance displays the installation code number in response to commands transmitted by the control device to select the type of device and brand of the second controllable household appliance. The method as listed in claim 7, wherein the first group of the various function keys comprises an installation key and navigation keys (214). 9. The method as listed in claim 7, wherein the second group of the various function keys comprises digit keys (204). 10. The method as listed in claim 7, wherein the third group of the various function keys It comprises a group consisting of one or more volume control keys (208), channel control keys (206), and a power control key (202). The method as recited in claim 7, comprising storing at least a portion of the schedule for displaying instructions displayed on a removable storage medium readable by the first controllable appliance (102). The method as listed in claim 7, comprising downloading at least a portion of the schedule to display instructions viewable on the first controllable appliance (102) via a satellite connection.